In cigarette production, individual packets of cigarettes are enwrapped in cellophane, collated into pairs and the pairs collated into groups of a pre-selected total number (usually 10 packets) before being further enwrapped within a carton blank. The carton wrapping operation itself, is automated utilizing a machine such as the G.D 4350 cartoner machine or a commercial equivalent.
In the past, information concerning the product, such as its time and/or place of manufacture, was embossed or otherwise applied to an outer flap of the carton using an embossing roller. In that the board material of the carton blank is fairly rigid, and the aforementioned embossing operation was executed without any ink, the embossed information was often difficult to read, and required close inspection of each carton to the substantial inconvenience of the reader.
A particular problem associated in applying inked indicia upon cigarette cartons or similar packaging is that cigarette packing operations are conducted at high machine speeds such that any on-line printing operation tends to cause ink smears both upon the finished cigarette product and upon portions of the packing machinery adjacent the print location. The latter situation compromises quality of the product and may lead to additional rejection of product and other manufacturing inefficiencies. Ink smears on the manufacturing machinery necessitates clean-up, taking the machine out of production and so creating additional costs.
Another difficulty in attempting on-line printing operations within a cigarette packing machine is that placement of the printing apparatus may interfere with smooth and consistent feeding of the packaging material.
Still another difficulty in attempting to execute on-line printing operations within a cigarette cartoner machine is that the ink jet printer best operates when the target material is moving at a fixed velocity, yet near the conclusion of wrapping operations, the carton and packet collation move along the final portion of the cartoner machine intermittently.